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With a whole 3 to 4 months of hot stove upon us (depending on your water cup viewpoint), what better to do than speculate on what the Twins will be able to do during that time? A big topic of interest on TwinsDaily has been the potential trade market for pitching; specifically, Homer Bailey. If you happen to live under a rock, the "rotation situation" is desperate for improvement after yet another abysmal attempt. There's quite a few scenarios that the Twins could explore in a player swap that I'd enjoy concentrating on.

I can't agree with Rogers being lower than Cole Johnson or any of the other names on this. A left handed starter who's never had an ERA over 2.88. 6K/9 isn't the worst thing in the world and of course it's going to take a hard hit when you move to the rotation. 1.156 WHIP to go with his ERA. If Rogers is this low, then I'm not sure as to why Melotakis will likely 15+ spots higher . I mean his K/9 is 6.8 and everything else for him was worse than Rogers. Lower level, same age, shorter, worse WHIP, worse ERA. To me those guys are pretty close and to have that big a gap between them just comes off as crazy.

Pretty funny indeed.

The infield looks fine for the forseeable future with the exception of first. I'm convinced Parmelee isn't a major league hitter and Colabello will be too old even if he gets it together by the time we'll be good.

Only one name from me. Jose Abreu

Butera's dismissal, B.J. Hermsen's waiving, and the inevitable Cole DeVries waiving give the Twins plenty of option for a 40 man spot for Albers. I like his odds more with Butera's spot open.

I would definitely put Duensing higher than Perkins and Plouffe. Jamey Carroll is another name people have been tossing around. Regarding #5, I don't think there is any real competition between Sano and Plouffe. They play the same position, but either (likely Plouffe) could be moved somewhere else.

As long as they're not hitting the wall, I'm ok with how they're handled. These guys want to play as much as they can and as long as the medical staff does their job the players should be fine. They just have to look for warning signs like decreasing velocity or complaints of soreness, or something along those lines. The season is long, but I often don't see too many pitchers throwing much more than 5 or 6 innings a start in the minors. It's right to be cautious with potential investments, but when you don't have to, let it play out. Eventually they're going to have to throw that many innings a season anyway. Perhaps it takes less than a few years to get to get to that workload.

The thing is, players get a position they are projected for based on their visible skills (coordination, size, quickness, etc.) by scouts. I trust their judgement on this and generally they're correct about this. Sano likely didn't have the ability or ideal size from what they saw. Sano can't play shortstop for the same reasons Mauer can't. They're too big and not fast enough.

Also want to say that I think Lester Oliveros' and Madison Boer's careers are on the brink of extinction.

Thanks. I feel bad for just throwing this out there with no analysis, but to do so for 30+ players is tedious. One thing about Mejia though, he's very young for Ft. Myers and is hitting the ball well. Not very toolsy though. As for Herrmann, he's getting old and I think Pinto has surpassed him as the potential #2 catcher for us. He's not hitting, but I'll admit I was pretty abrupt when moving him down. Although, I was never too high on him to begin with.

Here are my rankings for the players in the Twins minor league system. Talent and positional value are the biggest factors, while age and league are minor factors. In addition, draft position and size also have some impact. Normally I'd like to use 50, but after 35 I didn't think there were enough worthy of even being considered a prospect. Recently departed Joe Benson is off and so is Aaron Hicks after reaching the 130 AB benchmark. Hope you enjoy and possibly learn a new name! 1. Byron Buxton, OF 19 A 2. Miguel Sano, 3B 20 A+ 3. Oswaldo Arcia, OF 22 AAA 4. Kyle Gibson, SP 25 AAA 5. Alex Meyer, SP 23 AA 6. Eddie Rosario, OF 21 A+ 7. Jose Berrios, SP 19 A 8. Trevor May, SP 23 AA 9. Max Kepler-Rozycki, OF 20 Rk (E) 10. Jorge Polanco, SS 19 A 11. D.J Baxendale, SP 22 AA 12. Adam Walker, OF 21 A 13. Daniel Santana, 2B 22 AA 14. Nate Roberts, OF 24 AA 15. Josmil Pinto, C 24 AA 16. Travis Harrison, 3B 20 A 17. Niko Goodrum, SS/2B/OF 21 A 18. Daniel Ortiz, OF 23 AA 19. Kennys Vargas, 1B 23 A+ 20. Tyler Duffey, SP 21 A 21. Aderlin Mejia, 3B 20 A+ 21. Zach Jones, RP 22 A 22. Michael Tonkin, RP 23 AA 23. Taylor Rogers, SP 22 A+ 24. Corey Williams, RP 23 A+ 25. Adrian Salcedo, RP 22 A+ 26. Amaurys Minier, SS 17 DOSL 27. Alex Wimmers, SP 24 INJ 28. Felix Jorge, SP 19 Rk (E) 29. Levi Michael, SS 22 AA 30. Angel Mata, SP 20 Rk (E) 31. Hudson Boyd, SP 20 A 32. Angel Morales, OF 22 A+ 33. Luke Bard, SP 22 Rk (E) 34. Chris Herrmann, C 25 AAA 35. B.J. Hermsen, SP 23 AA

Here are my rankings for the players in the Twins minor league system. Talent and positional value are the biggest factors, while age and league are minor factors. In addition, draft position and size also have some impact. Normally I'd like to use 50, but after 35 I didn't think there were enough worthy of even being considered a prospect. Recently departed Joe Benson is off and so is Aaron Hicks after reaching the 130 AB benchmark. Hope you enjoy and possibly learn a new name! 1. Byron Buxton, OF 19 A 2. Miguel Sano, 3B 20 A+ 3. Oswaldo Arcia, OF 22 AAA 4. Kyle Gibson, SP 25 AAA 5. Alex Meyer, SP 23 AA 6. Eddie Rosario, OF 21 A+ 7. Jose Berrios, SP 19 A 8. Trevor May, SP 23 AA 9. Max Kepler-Rozycki, OF 20 Rk (E) 10. Jorge Polanco, SS 19 A 11. D.J Baxendale, SP 22 AA 12. Adam Walker, OF 21 A 13. Daniel Santana, 2B 22 AA 14. Nate Roberts, OF 24 AA 15. Josmil Pinto, C 24 AA 16. Travis Harrison, 3B 20 A 17. Niko Goodrum, SS/2B/OF 21 A 18. Daniel Ortiz, OF 23 AA 19. Kennys Vargas, 1B 23 A+ 20. Tyler Duffey, SP 21 A 21. Aderlin Mejia, 3B 20 A+ 21. Zach Jones, RP 22 A 22. Michael Tonkin, RP 23 AA 23. Taylor Rogers, SP 22 A+ 24. Corey Williams, RP 23 A+ 25. Adrian Salcedo, RP 22 A+ 26. Amaurys Minier, SS 17 DOSL 27. Alex Wimmers, SP 24 INJ 28. Felix Jorge, SP 19 Rk (E) 29. Levi Michael, SS 22 AA 30. Angel Mata, SP 20 Rk (E) 31. Hudson Boyd, SP 20 A 32. Angel Morales, OF 22 A+ 33. Luke Bard, SP 22 Rk (E) 34. Chris Herrmann, C 25 AAA 35. B.J. Hermsen, SP 23 AA

Josh Hamilton could be considered another Texas reclamation.

From what I've heard, Buxton seems like the kind of guy who has that desire to win. I could be wrong though.

The conclusion of the Twins-Red Sox series marks the 1/4 point of the 2013 MLB season. Minnesota has truly had a strange and unexpected season thus far, but, as we all know, small sample sizes can have that effect! Should we be more surprised at how well the Twins have performed as a team? Or at whom has performed? Some of the success stories from last year have faded and at the same time unproven players are exceeding expectations. Let's see how our roster fares! Catcher: Joe Mauer Significant Stats: .349/.431/.500 2 HRs, 13 RBI, 24 R, 15 2B, 55%CS, 35K Mauer is a good player. Who knew? His Batting Average is the 3rd best in the American League and his On Base Percentage is 2nd to Miguel Cabrera (of all people). What's new though, or has been re-newed, is his elite defense behind home plate. Mauer has been very effective at framing pitches and it's plainly observable during ball games. Joe is throwing out 55% of baserunners which is over double the league average of 25% for MLB catchers. Mauer is also sitting at 2.0 WAR and I believe that puts him on pace for 8.0 wins above replacement for the season after some advanced formulas and algorithms on my behalf. He's even besting rival, Buster Posey (1.7), in that regard. Despite the positives, Mauer went through a tough stretch and is striking out a lot more than usual. Grade: A- First Base: Justin Morneau Significant Stats: .297/.333/.412 2HRs, 28 RBI, 18 R, 24Ks Morneau is hitting the ball well, but not very hard. He' #7 in Batting Average for starting first baseman, but his OPS ranks him #17. The RBI production does put him on pace for over 100, so without the power he's still been able to do his job in the cleanup spot. His discipline looks better with strikeouts in 16.2% of his ABs; although, Morneau can't restrain himself from the slider low and away. I've personally enjoyed his defense as well, especially since there's always the occasional errant, rushed throw from shortstop, Pedro Florimon. Grade: B+ Second Base: Brian Dozier Significant Stats: .217/.258/.288 1HR, 3SB, 3 CS, It's great to see Brian Dozier getting a second chance. He looks much better at second base this season and Dozier has even amassed .6 dWAR from his new home. His range factor is the highest for all second baseman too. Unfortunately, he's not hitting. To make matters worse, Gardenhire continually bats him at the top of the lineup. Dozier's base running hasn't been enough of an advantage to keep him up there either. Maybe he'd find more success batting lower and the team would as well, but that's completely opinionated thinking. While Dozier's been above replacement level so far, it doesn't look like he'll be much of a serviceable starter. For the time being though, he's cheap and doesn't kill us much. Grade: D+ Third Base: Trevor Plouffe Significant Stats: .242/.311/.425 4HRs, 15 RBI, 16 R, .944Fld% Plouffe's bat has been an advantage at third base, but as I'm sure you're familiar, his glove has not. He's been below average and who knows if we'll see improvement. This year, he hasn't caught fire just yet with the bat. If he does, expect everyone to swoon to him(including myself). He's really sort of in the neutral zone, so something it wouldn't take much to push him either way. I personally like having him as a stopgap solution at 3B for now. Grade: C+ Shortstop: Pedro Florimon, Jr. Significant Stats: .247/.314/.377 2HRs, 4SBs, .975Fld% Pedro Florimon doesn't get the appreciation he deserves. Albeit, maybe he hasn't deserved it just yet.

The conclusion of the Twins-Red Sox series marks the 1/4 point of the 2013 MLB season. Minnesota has truly had a strange and unexpected season thus far, but, as we all know, small sample sizes can have that effect! Should we be more surprised at how well the Twins have performed as a team? Or at whom has performed? Some of the success stories from last year have faded and at the same time unproven players are exceeding expectations. Let's see how our roster fares! Catcher: Joe Mauer Significant Stats: .349/.431/.500 2 HRs, 13 RBI, 24 R, 15 2B, 55%CS, 35K Mauer is a good player. Who knew? His Batting Average is the 3rd best in the American League and his On Base Percentage is 2nd to Miguel Cabrera (of all people). What's new though, or has been re-newed, is his elite defense behind home plate. Mauer has been very effective at framing pitches and it's plainly observable during ball games. Joe is throwing out 55% of baserunners which is over double the league average of 25% for MLB catchers. Mauer is also sitting at 2.0 WAR and I believe that puts him on pace for 8.0 wins above replacement for the season after some advanced formulas and algorithms on my behalf. He's even besting rival, Buster Posey (1.7), in that regard. Despite the positives, Mauer went through a tough stretch and is striking out a lot more than usual. Grade: A- First Base: Justin Morneau Significant Stats: .297/.333/.412 2HRs, 28 RBI, 18 R, 24Ks Morneau is hitting the ball well, but not very hard. He' #7 in Batting Average for starting first baseman, but his OPS ranks him #17. The RBI production does put him on pace for over 100, so without the power he's still been able to do his job in the cleanup spot. His discipline looks better with strikeouts in 16.2% of his ABs; although, Morneau can't restrain himself from the slider low and away. I've personally enjoyed his defense as well, especially since there's always the occasional errant, rushed throw from shortstop, Pedro Florimon. Grade: B+ Second Base: Brian Dozier Significant Stats: .217/.258/.288 1HR, 3SB, 3 CS, It's great to see Brian Dozier getting a second chance. He looks much better at second base this season and Dozier has even amassed .6 dWAR from his new home. His range factor is the highest for all second baseman too. Unfortunately, he's not hitting. To make matters worse, Gardenhire continually bats him at the top of the lineup. Dozier's base running hasn't been enough of an advantage to keep him up there either. Maybe he'd find more success batting lower and the team would as well, but that's completely opinionated thinking. While Dozier's been above replacement level so far, it doesn't look like he'll be much of a serviceable starter. For the time being though, he's cheap and doesn't kill us much. Grade: D+ Third Base: Trevor Plouffe Significant Stats: .242/.311/.425 4HRs, 15 RBI, 16 R, .944Fld% Plouffe's bat has been an advantage at third base, but as I'm sure you're familiar, his glove has not. He's been below average and who knows if we'll see improvement. This year, he hasn't caught fire just yet with the bat. If he does, expect everyone to swoon to him(including myself). He's really sort of in the neutral zone, so something it wouldn't take much to push him either way. I personally like having him as a stopgap solution at 3B for now. Grade: C+ Shortstop: Pedro Florimon, Jr. Significant Stats: .247/.314/.377 2HRs, 4SBs, .975Fld% Pedro Florimon doesn't get the appreciation he deserves. Albeit, maybe he hasn't deserved it just yet.

To be clear, he's getting old and the odds don't look very good for him. It's going to be tough for him to make the Twins outfield with Arcia and Hicks coming in at full force. Mastroianni also seems to be making himself important if you overlook potential. Willingham's contract will be up though and it'll be interesting to see how they handle it if he isn't traded.

Benson had a huge opportunity in Spring Training and he completely blew it. Doesn't help that both of his competitors had incredible Marchs, but he could have at least made it close. This may have been his last chance, but like you say, he'll probably get another one next Spring. Unless the Twins let him leave via Rule 5. Although, that would likely require Benson turns in duplicate of last season (minus injury).

Rosario is the best. A Jack of all trades!

Don't understand how Achter can be in front of Williams. Williams was a much higher draft choice and is actually age appropriate for his league. I know a lot have suggested Williams as the future closer, the ultimate goal for relief prospects. Plus, left handed pitchers are valued quite a bit higher than right handed ones.

You are underrating Pedro Hernandez by a mile. He has a good track record, left handed starter, and is young for AAA with a far better chance to make the major leagues than most of the people ahead of him. More like 30s. You have Tim Shibuya higher than Hernandez when Hernandez is on the fringe of making the show and Shibuya is buried in A ball. Both are the same age.

If it's Jeter's 3,000th hit, I sell the ball. If it's Mauer's....I may keep it or return it. Depends on what you think of the player who hit the ball. I think that if you return a ball though, you should decline any compensation from the athlete. The PR boost for them helps, but I think it's more honorable. People get credited as 'doing the right thing' by giving it back when they really are getting something back (even if hardly anything value wise).

Great idea and it's not often that any of these guys would grace a top 12 list! Partly because they're not good and partly because most top 12s would be narrowed down to 10.